Details

Summary

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school: Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal. Although its primary goal is to assess students’ reasoning abilities, CogAT can also provide predicted achievement scores when administered with The Iowa Tests.

While CogAT is well-suited to help educators make important student placement decisions, such as selecting students for Gifted and Talented programs, exclusive features such as the Ability Profile Score can be used to expand the educational opportunities of all students.

Tests

Reasoning abilities have substantial correlations with learning and problem solving, both in and out of school. CogAT’s measurement of three different content domains ensures that educators receive a balanced view of the child.

Each level of CogAT offers three test batteries:

• Verbal
• Quantitative
• Nonverbal

CogAT can be administered in whole or in part, however, the most complete view of a student will be provided through administration of all three batteries.

For the Primary Edition (Levels K-2), two different subtests measure each reasoning ability. The Multilevel Edition (Levels A-H) uses three different subtests to measure each ability.  Use of a different item format on each subtest ensures that scores for each battery are not unduly affected by performance on a particular item type.

Levels

The table below lists the recommended test levels for low-, average-, and high-ability classes. Some individuals in any group — such as those students expected to score above the 90th percentile — may be candidates for individualized testing with a level different from the level used for the majority of students. Consult the CogAT, Form 6, Interpretive Guide for School Administrators for additional information.
CogAT is constructed with overlapping sets of items throughout the series. The overlap of items from level to level provides the user with a continuous, ascending scale of difficulty, which is the foundation of CogAT's superior score scale from Kindergarten through grade 12.

Recommended Test Levels for CogAT, Form 6, Low-, Average-, and High-Ability Classes
Grade	Low	Average	High
K	K	K	1
1	K/1	1	2
2	1/2	2	A
3	2/A	A/B	B
4	A/B	B/C	C
5	B/C	C/D	D
6	C/D	D/E	E
7	D/E	E/F	F
8	E/F	F	F
9	F	F	G
10	F	G	G
11	G	G	H
12	G	H	H

Administration

CogAT can be administered in whole or in part, however, the most complete view of a student will be provided through administration of all three batteries.

Table 1: Testing Schedule for CogAT Form 6, Level K
Session	Test	Minutes (est.)	Estimated Total Time (minutes)	Number of Items
Session 1:	Distributing materials and working practice questions	10	34	20
	Test 1: Oral Vocabulary	22
	Collecting materials	2
Session 2:	Distributing materials	3	29	20
	Test 2: Verbal Reasoning	24
	Collecting materials	2
Session 3:	Distributing materials	3	26	20
	Test 3: Relational Concepts	21
	Collecting materials	2
Session 4:	Distributing materials	3	26	20
	Test 4: Quantitative Concepts	21
	Collecting materials	2
Session 5:	Distributing materials	3	27	20
	Test 5: Figure Classification	22
	Collecting materials	2
Session 6:	Distributing materials	3	27	20
	Test 6: Matrices	22
	Collecting materials	2

Table 2: Testing Schedule for CogAT Form 6, Levels 1 and 2
Session	Test	Minutes (est.) Level 1	Minutes (est.) Level 2	Number of Items Level 1	Number of Items Level 2
Session 1:	Verbal Battery (Total)	49	43	44	248
	Distributing materials and working practice questions	5	5
	Test 1: Oral Vocabulary	20	18	22	24
	Test 2: Verbal Reasoning	22	18	22	24
	Collecting materials	2	2
Session 2:	Quantitative Battery (Total)	44	40	44	48
	Distributing materials	3	3
	Test 3: Relational Concepts	20	18	22	24
	Test 4: Quantitative Concepts	19	17	22	24
	Collecting materials	2	2
Session 3:	Nonverbal Battery (Total)	45	41	44	48
	Distributing materials	3	3
	Test 5: Figure Classification	20	18	22	22
	Test 6: Matrices	20	18	22	22
	Collecting materials	2	2

Table 3: Testing Schedule for CogAT Form 6, Levels A-H
Session	Test	Minutes (est.)	Estimated Total Time (minutes)	Number of Items
Session 1:	Verbal Battery		51	65
	Distributing materials and preparing answer sheets		10
	Test 1: Verbal Classification	10	13	20
	Test 2: Sentence Completion	10	13	20
	Test 3: Verbal Analogies	10	13	25
	Collecting materials		2
Session 2:	Quantitative Battery		48	60
	Distributing materials		5
	Test 4: Quantitative Relations		12
	Test 5: Number Series		12
	Test 6: Equation Building		16
	Collecting materials		2
Session 3:	Nonverbal Battery		46	65
	Distributing materials		5
	Test 7: Figure Classification	10	13	25
	Test 8: Figure Analogies	10	13	25
	Test 9: Figure Analysis	10	13	15
	Collecting materials		2

Technical Qualities

CogAT, Form 6, was developed under the same rigorous standards as The Iowa Tests. Detailed technical information on CogAT can be found in the Research Handbook that is available for purchase. Click here for ordering and pricing information.

Resources

Riverside Publishing wants to ensure that your testing program will be smooth and efficient. A variety of resources are available to help you manage your testing program, and communicate effectively with families.

An online, interactive glossary of testing terms can help you understand your test results.

The free online manual, A Short Guide for Teachers, offers additional information on how to work with CogAT results.

Click here for Report to Parents: Free resource for schools that hand score.

Pre-Test Resources

Practice Tests are available to help familiarize students with the overall structure and format of CogAT. Click here for pricing and ordering information.

Interpretation

The Interpretive Guide for Teachers and Counselors focuses on the use of test results to help improve student achievement. It contains samples of individual and group score reports, along with suggestions for reporting results to parents.

The Interpretive Guide for School Administrators discusses the interpretation of score reports and provides suggestions for using test results in curriculum planning and reporting to school officials and the community.

Click here for pricing and ordering information.